The bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is surrounded by reflective dust that is illuminated by the star. RS Puppis rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable stars. Hubble took a series of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a phenomenon known as a "light echo."

The Hubble Telescope has been active for nearly a quarter of a century. Here are some of the telescope’s most striking images—a tiny fraction of the things it’s seen and the images it’s sent home in its long and productive life.